Men's Basketball Southern Conference

Davidson NIT Run Comes to an End at Maryland in 78-63 Loss

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Davidson men's basketball team's season came to a disappointing end as the University of Maryland used a 20-0 run spanning both halves to advance to the third round of the National Invitation Tournament with a 78-63 victory on Wednesday night at the Comcast Center. Maryland (18-12) held Davidson (23-9) to a dismal 31.3 percent shooting performance, including a 10-of-35 showing from three-point territory, to overcome a 16-point first-half deficit.

The Wildcats were led by junior guard Brendan Winters who dropped a game-high 16 points in only 27 minutes of action. Senior Logan Kosmalski gathered his 10th double-double of the season in his final game in the Wildcat red and black. Kosmalski dumped in 13 points and collected 10 rebounds. The Terrapins had six players score in double figures as their bench outscored Davidson's 33-25. James Gist knocked down 4-of-5 field goals and all seven of his foul shots for a team-best 15 points.

Three of Davidson's first four buckets were from long range as the Wildcats jumped out to an 11-7 lead at the 13:47 mark. Still hanging on to a four-point advantage several minutes later, the 'Cats scored five quick points to push their lead to nine, 23-14, at 8:58. The Terps answered with four tallies, but then fell quiet from the field. Kosmalski drained back-to-back three-pointers to jump start an 11-0 run by the Wildcats.

A Jason Morton triple from about 25 feet out put the visitors up 16, 34-18, with four minutes remaining before the break. However, three straight turnovers by the Wildcats gave Maryland some momentum and five unanswered points. The lead down to 11, 34-23, Kosmalski picked up one of the six Wildcat fouls handed out in the final minutes of the half and joined foul-troubled Winters and Morton on the Davidson bench. The Terps converted two more old-fashioned three-point plays before the half was through, scoring 16 straight points to tie the game at 34 heading into the locker room.

The Terrapins extended their run to 20-0 by scoring the first four points of the final stanza. Two Kosmalski free throws at 17:06 ended Davidson's scoring drought of almost seven minutes, and closed the gap to two, 38-36. Maryland converted shots and got to the line to hold a five point advantage, 50-45, with under 13 minutes remaining.

A Kosmalski jumper and a Winters three tied the game at 50, but Nik Caner-Medley answered with the Terps' only three-pointer of the second half to regain the lead for good. Foul trouble continued to plague the 'Cats as Davidson was without starting point guard Kenny Grant and forward Conor Grace for much of the second half. The Wildcats didn't score from the field for five minutes and Maryland built its advantage to nine, 63-54, as it gained momentum from the more than 12,000 rowdy fans in attendance. Davidson would never get closer than four for the remainder of the contest.

Maryland controlled the scoring in the paint (34-12) and used a dominating performance on the glass, outrebounding Davidson 51-43. Terrapin post players Travis Garrison, James Gist and Ekene Ibekwe combined for 38 points and 22 rebounds. Ibekwe also blocked five shots in the winning effort.

Maryland advances to the quarterfinals of the NIT and will host TCU on Saturday afternoon at a time yet to be announced.

Davidson's season ends with an overall record of 23-9. The Wildcats posted a perfect 16-0 record in the Southern Conference and earned their fourth consecutive regular-season league crown. With two victories in the NIT, Davidson pulled off its first-ever triumphs in the tournament, and first postseason wins in 36 years. Winters, who earlier today received AP Honorable Mention All-American honors, finishes his junior year in 13th place on Davidson's all-time scoring list with 1,385 points. He also posted a Davidson single-season record with 89 three-pointers this year. The sharp-shooter is the school's career leader with 211 triples.

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